Tsukoika Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) made his first wood block print
around the time that Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Japan. His
prints of heroes ranged from contemporary actors and Tokyo fireman to
legendary figures such as Kintaro (The Golden Boy, right). Some of
his prints are humorous such as an octopus unwilling to be sold at a
market place. Many are scenes from battles or horror stories.

(Yoshitoshi prints courtesy Dover Publications, Inc.)

Because his prints were relatively inexpensive and mass produced
compared to other contemporary forms of art, he was influential
Japanese popular culture. Many of the subjects he treated recur in
anime and manga, from peeping at outdoor baths to the Songoku (The
Monkey King, left). A collection of his prints were exhibited at San
Francisco's
Asian Art Museum as
Yoshitoshi's Strange Tales:
Woodblock Prints from Edo to Meiji
in the summer of 2007 to the delight of many of us at No-Name Anime.